Ancient peoples were in many ways more sensible than we are today. What we now dismissively call "fatalism" was in those days simply a matter of observing and accepting the obvious. They would think of us as silly and whiny, pickling ourselves and the whole world in our personal sorrow. All the more so do we fall far short of the spiritual view, which notes death is just a circumstance. Jesus predicted His death repeatedly, along with numerous details about who was plotting and how they would go about it. For Him, death was a station on the path to ultimate victory.
Mark does not waste too much ink on details of Jesus' death. Rather, he recites the basic outline of events, perhaps to correct some silly legends, more than anything else. The focus of attention is showing by the sequence of events the narrative support for basic teachings the Roman Christians had received.
The second act of the Sanhedrin was to reconvene at dawn to reconfirm their sentence on Jesus. He was bound and turned over to Roman custody. While Pilate would not normally be in town, since his official residence was in Caesarea, it seemed during festivals trouble was most likely to happen in Jerusalem, as it had so often in the past. Mark sticks with the basic facts, showing Pilate asked Jesus if He claimed to be King of the Jews. Jesus' answer was idiomatic for "yes." While this was officially sufficient to find Jesus guilty of treason, it's obvious Pilate was certain Jesus was hardly a threat to Roman authority. As Mark had pointed out repeatedly, Jesus was too obviously a spiritual king, with no interest in human politics.
It became clear to everyone this was not going as planned, and the representatives of the Sanhedrin lined up to make radical accusations against Jesus. That Jesus calmly absorbed this without reaction rather surprised Pilate. This fellow had no fear for His life. Mark backtracks just a bit to note in this context the Roman governor had a tradition of releasing a prisoner back to the Jews as a gesture of good will. Some of the folks in this crowd of spectators would have quickly called for the release of Jesus, but the Sanhedrin were expecting that. They had planted agents in the crowd to make it seem the multitude would prefer Barabbas. This latter was a notorious revolutionary, probably a likely hero to the multitude. Any hope of calling for Jesus' release died quickly.
Pilate had no legal grounds to charge Jesus, so took advantage of the moment, hoping the crowd might at least relent, since he had granted their wish to release Barabbas. Again, the Sanhedrin had come prepared, and immediately their agents began shouting raucously for Jesus to be crucified. It looked very much like a riot in the making, so Pilate resigned himself to executing this harmless rabbi. He had Jesus publicly flogged. Mark spares no relish for gruesome details, but mentions it in passing. His readers knew exactly what that meant, and needed no elaboration: the victim tied to a post, hands above his head, the lictor facing him and wrapping the cat-o-nine-tails around the victim and yanking it back. Utterly messy and painful beyond words, the lictor was trained to stop before the accused died.
It was probably another part of the ritual to allow the soldiers to afflict the condemned a little more. We know most Roman soldiers quartered in the city were Syrian conscripts, and there was mutual despite between the them and the Jews. For a man who had just survived a vicious beating with a whip, the physical abuse wouldn't have mattered much, but it's hard to ignore the sorrow of the mocking. The prospect of execution would come somewhat as a relief, as He was led away. By now He was simply too weak to carry the crossbeam, and a man who happened to be the only one walking against the flow of traffic for this procession was ordered to carry the load. Mark names the man: Simon of Cyrene. The best explanation is he was known to the readers because at least one of his sons, Rufus, lived in Rome. Romans would also recognize the common practice of forcing someone to bear a burden "for the Empire."
Mark translates the name of the place of execution, which had to be high ground near a well-traveled road. Such a spectacle was the Roman idea of deterrence. Jesus refused the drugged potion offered, a cruel joke which dulled the victim's pain, but also prolonged the suffering. In a bare sketch, Mark notes Jesus was crucified and the soldiers chosen for this extra duty were allowed to divide whatever property the condemned carried with them. Noting the execution began at 9AM, Mark mentions the charge against Jesus, which amounted to treason. It is noteworthy for being so senseless. He also mentions the other two victims, which fulfills the prophecy the Messiah would be counted as a common criminal. We note the tone of this narrative is simply describing the way human governments do things. The most significant event in human history, before and after, and it was just a routine matter hardly noted.
The mockery never let up. It seems the people intentionally misunderstood Jesus' teachings. The Sanhedrin were celebrating with similar comments. Even the two robbers beside Him mocked Jesus. The moral darkness was matched by literal darkness. By noon, the sun was hidden completely from this scene. Another three hours, and we are told Jesus was utterly alone, for even His Father in Heaven turned away. In the context, we should realize this was the worst part of the whole thing for Jesus. With such severe dehydration, it was hard to be sure exactly what Jesus was saying in His native Aramaic, so someone offered Him a drink of the cheap wine provided Roman soldiers in their rations. This was what Jesus needed physically to enable what He had to do last. He cried out, but Mark doesn't bother with words which didn't mean anything to his Roman readers. Rather, he notes Jesus simply and forcefully breathed His last, and died. Much more important it was to reveal the Temple veil was torn open from above. The secretive inner sanctuary separating God and Man was opened, and Judaism died, having no longer any purpose.
Oddly, it was a pagan Roman commander who realized dying this way had meaning. The officer recognized the man in the middle was divine. How many times had he commanded a detachment to execute criminals in this manner? They lingered on for at least a day, and usually two. This fellow simply commanded his body to die after only six hours. No authority on earth could match that. Of course, members of Jesus' entourage were there, the women. Mark names the ones known to his readers, noting there were several others. The men were in hiding.
The term "evening" should be read like our "late afternoon." Mark notes it was approaching the day of preparation before the Sabbath that week. Jews could do nothing, even burying their dead, on the Sabbath. Joseph of Arimathea, described as one of the few members of the Sanhedrin who actually believed in God and His promises, mustered enough courage to come forth and bury Jesus. Mark describes how Pilate seemed surprised Jesus had succumbed so quickly. However, it is confirmed, so he signs a release and the body is taken down from the cross. Mark notes the Jewish burial practice in passing, of wrapping the dead in long linen strips, rather like we think of mummies in Egypt. The body was placed in an extravagantly expensive tomb, and sealed with a rolling stone. Mark mentions at least two of the women saw the location of this tomb.
We can't really say Mark treats Pilate with any sympathy, so much as he lays the blame squarely on the Jewish leaders. Pilate was simply an intelligent part of the impersonal Roman machinery, doing what government does best. Hardly an ogre, Pilate is simply doing his job. Squeezing from the crucifixion story every last juicy detail is foreign to the biblical point of view. After consistently pointing out Jesus was teaching a spiritual understanding, building a spiritual kingdom, and in every way emphasizing the spiritual nature of true faith in a spiritual God, it becomes a mockery people would ever claim to seek splinters from a "sacred Cross," as if tangible objects could somehow have any inherent power. Jesus' own clothing was dismissed in a sentence, because the garment of true holiness was what mattered. At every point, He criticized the Jewish fascination with tangible objects of their false religion. The death of Our Savior was unjust, brutal and messy, but absolutely necessary. Like anything else, this life and this world, even death itself, is merely a tool used in service to the Kingdom.
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By Ed Hurst
17 May 2008
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